What books are similar to Project Hail Mary?

The 10 closest matches to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir on ReadingList include Scythe, Sunrise on the Reaping, That's Not My Name, The Maze Runner, and All My Rage. Each is scored on shared themes (survival, science and problem solving, and friendship), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Project Hail Mary reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like Project Hail Mary

If you liked Project Hail Mary, read Scythe, Sunrise on the Reaping, or That's Not My Name — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

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Looking for books like Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Science Fiction · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of survival, science and problem solving, and friendship. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Scythegrades 7–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Sunrise on the Reapinggrades 7–12: Shares themes of survival and sacrifice and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
That's Not My Namegrades 9–12: Shares themes of survival, both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Maze Runnergrades 7–12: Shares themes of survival and friendship, both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
All My Ragegrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Steelheartgrades 7–12: Both on the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Warcrossgrades 8–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list, same genre (Science Fiction), and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Under the Surfacegrades 7–12: Shares themes of survival and friendship and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Fate So Coldgrades 7–12: Shares themes of sacrifice and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
I'll Give You the Sungrades 9–12: Both on the Battle of the Books (state reading programs) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →